WASHINGTON (AP) - The artificial intelligence industry has lobbied hard in recent years, hiring dozens of influencers to help shape potential government actions.
The growth is not surprising. The technology is being rapidly embraced by powerful industries - healthcare, defense, financial services - all hoping to have a say in potential regulation.
As AI evolves at a rapid pace, legislators rely on the expertise of lobbyists, while think tanks, nonprofits and academia struggle to keep up with technological change.
AI industry lobbyists use PowerPoint presentations and briefings and talk extensively with lawmakers and staff, advising them on the ins and outs of the technology.
Lawmakers and lobbyists say the campaign has been successful, citing a lack of legislative movement to regulate AI, one of the most complex and difficult policy issues facing the federal government.
What's going on?
Lobbyists in Washington are busy trying to attract clients interested in AI, a sign that the technology is growing and that Congress is working to figure out the best way to regulate the industry.
According to a study by Open Secrets, a watchdog that tracks money in politics, the number of organizations lobbying on AI rose to 460 in 2023, an increase of more than 190% from 2022. The number of organizations grew slightly to 462 in 2024. The groups behind these lobbyists are among the top companies or trade associations behind the AI boom, from business networks such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Business Roundtable to companies like Microsoft, Intuit and Amazon.
A key reason for the growth is that AI is impacting so many different aspects of life, from healthcare and education to national security and the risks of disinformation.
AI companies try to suppress European regulations
The main goal of most of these lobbyists is to convince Washington that fears about AI are overblown and that the United States does not need to follow the lead of the European Union, which passed the first regulation of its kind earlier this year with the Artificial Intelligence Act.
"The constant theme is, don't do what the EU did. The throwaway line is, 'The EU is a regulatory superpower,'" said Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat focused on AI. "I haven't heard anyone defend the EU."
Congress has taken a light approach to AI so far. The legislation is unlikely to pass both chambers before the November elections, something some lawmakers say is necessary because of the way AI, using complex computer technology, can create believable but fake images, audio and video, leaving voters wondering what they see and hear and undermining confidence in elections.
How do they do that?
AI lobbyists spend a lot of time explaining how the technology works.
While these lobbyists still host events in the capital and fill campaign accounts with money, they focus on educating members of Congress and positioning themselves as a source of information about the changing industry.
"We're pushing an open door" in Congress on AI, said Craig Albright, chief lobbyist and senior vice president at The Software Alliance, a trade group whose members include Microsoft, OpenAI and IBM. "They want to be educated."
Albright called this work "the most important thing we do."
According to Varun Krovi, a technology lobbyist, such educational campaigns are effective because they build trust and confidence between lobbyists and lawmakers.
"It's a powerful way to build and strengthen your relationship with these members and staff, because you're not asking them to support Bill X or oppose Bill Y," said Krovi, director of government relations and public policy at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund.
"You basically step back and say we're here to answer all the technical questions you have and this is why you should listen to us. It's incredibly powerful," Krovi said.
One reason for that power, say skeptics of the way artificial intelligence is regulated, is that outside entities like academia and nonprofits can't keep up with AI companies and industry groups that influence Congress. Members of Congress, academics say, are more willing to listen to representatives from big-name tech companies than to more impartial experts.
Where are the think tanks and academia?
Right now, Congress is hearing mostly from industry-affiliated lobbyists, lobbyists and academics say. Academia and nonprofits, which provide impartial research and analysis on issues ranging from AI's uses to the threats it poses to society, are struggling to keep up with the technology. The most cutting-edge work is being generated by for-profit companies that can afford the best equipment and researchers.
"It's very difficult for academia to counter this level of lobbying," said Max Tegmark, a professor who researches AI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It feels a little like you're trying to explain something to someone else in the front row of a heavy metal concert."
MIT and others have held meetings with members of Congress on AI. MIT has hosted lawmakers in Boston and given similar briefings in Washington over the past two years. Nonprofits have tried to do the same.
"We're trying to keep up, but ... academia has a big challenge, which is access to computing resources. That's something that industry is now dealing with," said Asu Ozdaglar, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. "We're keeping up, we're doing research ... but to stay in the game, we need to have access to those resources."
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